Into the Darkness
by fayegrove
Summary: Loki has finally seized control of power in Asgard and begins plans to conquer the remaining realms, but a chance encounter on Earth brings about a chain of events that could unravel all that he has schemed so ruthlessly to achieve. AU after Loki visits Thor on Earth in the film. Loki/OFC. Violence and dub-con.
1. Hot Chocolate

**A/N**: _This actually started in my head as a one shot, which is why the first chapter has perhaps a lighter tone than the rest of the story will. Of course when I began writing, however, characters and plots burst into my mind and now this is going to end up a multi-chaptered fic. Because reasons._

* * *

Vicious triumph clung to Loki's heart as he drifted down the street in the small New Mexico town dear Thor had taken such delight in. _My brother_, he thought with relish, o_verthrown from his pedestal at last. _Even so, there was a bitterness churning inside of him that he could not quell, so he gave himself over to it and allowed the rage to course through his body, sustaining him as he his eyes absorbed everything in his vicinity.

There would be war, he would see to that. The time for living in peace had long since run its course and Loki would be the one to conquer each of the nine realms until he himself was the sole ruler, Mjolnir or not. With Odin vulnerable in his Odinsleep and the kingdom in unrest due to Thor's exile, the people would be desperate to cling onto anything they found comfort in. Loki, second son of their beloved ruler and brother of their shamed prince, would gladly oblige and see his people through their troubled times. None of them knew him for what he truly was, a notion which elated him. They would be easy to convince.

Loki's eyes darted this way and that as he moved, taking in the inferior architecture. He snorted at how pathetically small the city was. The entirety of the town could fit easily inside his palace on Valhalla; though, he thought with a grin as a small group of teenage girls hurried by and giggled loudly at his passing, this city bore a special place in Thor's heart. That alone made it worth his attention, for Loki was not content to merely exile his brother to a life where he might still find happiness. No, that would simply not be enough to punish the man who had overshadowed him their whole lives.

How best to go about completing his revenge, though? Of course he could take the obvious path and merely destroy the town, but that solution seemed too easily accomplished to be truly satisfying. Perhaps he could destroy just the woman—this Jane Foster—and allow the city and its inhabitants to stand as a reminder to what his brother had lost.

As he passed by them the city dwellers did double takes. Some were uneasy, as if they were not used to strangers in their midst. Many of them took in his appearance with undisguised awe, giving Loki momentary amusement wondering how the humans would react if they saw him in his true form. He vaguely noticed that women in particular were eyeing him with interest, but this was of no more importance to him than a passing breath. His eyes swept the crowd, lazily searching for the brunette his brother had so foolishly fallen in love with. He could find her easily enough with his powers and dispatch of her, but he felt in no real rush as he languidly strode down the city street, his black coat billowing behind him in the chilled winter air.

Loki stopped at what appeared to be the main traffic intersection, watching with scorn as the humans all crossed the streets in droves in sync to the lights which directed their clunky vehicles. He found himself oddly enjoying this façade of being one of them, and was just wondering what mischief he could play purely for enjoyment's sake when something bumped into him from behind, forcing him to take a step forward to steady himself. Furious, he whipped around with scathing words half-formed on his tongue.

A young woman was sprawled on the ground before him, books scattered around her as she struggled to get to her feet. He stared at her for a long moment until, without telling his arm to move, his hand extended out towards her. She accepted it gratefully and used his strength to pull herself upright, and her face burned scarlet as she squatted down to begin picking up her books.

"I'm so sorry," she spluttered, hastily trying to gather them up in her arms. "I wasn't watching where I was going and I thought the light was green and—" the girl's voice died in her throat as she took in Loki's appearance. "I'm sorry," she repeated quietly.

"It was nothing," Loki heard himself say, and then he was on one knee helping her gather the last of the books. "Are you alright?" the words slipped out of him without being consciously aware he had been thinking them. _Is she alright?_ He fumed to himself, _she's a human you imbecile, like it should matter if she is harmed._

"Yes, thank you," she murmured as he placed the final book atop her stack and she peered curiously over the top at Loki. "Say, you're not from around here, are you?"

A grin tugged at Loki's lips and he shook his head once. "I'm not, no."

"Are you from England?" the excitement in her words gave him pause, and when she realized what she had asked she immediately donned the expression of one caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "I'm sorry, I'm always being told to stop being so nosy but your accent is beautiful and I've always wanted to go to England."

Loki was very tempted to laugh at the rambling girl, but found he was unable to do more than smile at her. Of course the humans would not have any idea that the accents of their own regions came from those of the Asgardians. "Yes," he said with a hint of sarcasm that she did not seem to pick up on.

"That is amazing," she replied in awe, her eyes wide. The sight of her expression made Loki laugh dryly, and then immediately rebuke himself for doing so. "Say, would you like to get a coffee or something? There's a great little place around the corner and I do sort of owe you for almost making you face plant."

The girl smiled at him good-naturedly and Loki felt himself go rigid. All around them was a mass shuffling of people as they crossed the intersection, the light having turned green, but all he could do was stare at this human who watched him with a trace of apprehension—not the type he was used to seeing, of those who feared and quaked before him, nor of those who marked him as their enemy, but of one who simply feared putting their thoughts out to the universe only to find them rejected.

"Alright."

That word had tremendous impact on them both. The girl's face lit up and she readjusted the books in her arms, turning so that she was leading the way down the street. Loki followed her, rattled. Part of him considered destroying the town then and there, just to placate this unease and make things simpler once more. Instead his long stride caught him up to her within moments so that they were walking alongside each other.

"My name is Savannah," she said to him over her pile of books, not watching him as she carefully wove through people on the sidewalk.

"Lucas." He might be foolish enough to allow himself some time with the company of a human, but he was nowhere near mad enough to give his true name.

"You don't say much, do you Lucas?" she laughed as she turned abruptly towards a glass door on their right, struggling to reach the handle with her laden hands. Loki reached out and opened it for her, his hand against the glass to push it open so that she could walk through. "Thanks," she beamed at him.

The coffee shop was rather small but crowded with people, all of whom were bundled in coats and hats, chatting animatedly to one another. A few of them glanced over at the pair when they walked in but just as quickly looked away again. Savannah approached the counter and Loki followed behind her, feeling somewhat awkward being in an environment filled with such general cheer.

"Hi Angie!" Savannah waved to the girl behind the counter as she set the pile of books down. The girl she had addressed looked up from the pastries she was stocking in the glass display case and smiled back at her. When she caught sight of Loki her eyes widened and remained frozen on him, though it was Savannah whom she addressed.

"Hey Anna. Back from college, then?"

"Well it is the holidays," Savannah replied sarcastically, correctly guessing at the girl's distraction and half-glancing over her shoulder to where Loki stood rooted to the spot, staring evenly back at the girl behind the counter. "This is Lucas," she added with a waving gesture behind her. "Say, do you still make peppermint hot chocolate?"

"Err, yes," Angie answered awkwardly, forcing her eyes away from Loki's and turning them back to Savannah.

"Great! Have you had one before?" she threw at Loki suddenly, turning around to face him and pulling her mittens off as she did so.

"No," he replied, nonplused.

"We'll have two peppermint hot chocolates, then," she declared, digging into her pocket and pulling out a small wad of cash.

"That'll be $8.59," the girl behind the counter said in a would-be casual tone, giving Loki the impression that his appearance in the town would not go as unnoticed as he'd hoped. Maybe he'd have to destroy it after all, he thought ruefully as he watched Savannah count out some of the cash and hand it over, accept her change and then struggle to pick up the pile of books. For half a second Loki was tempted to take them from her but he mentally shook himself and instead followed her silently to an empty booth near the window. There she dropped them heavily against the wall before squeezing herself in the side facing the windowed street. Loki sat in the booth across from her, immensely regretting his decision to play along with this little game.

There was a few minutes' silence while Loki watched the girl strip off her layers of clothing, tossing the red pea coat and knitted cap on the seat next to her, along with her gloves and scarf. Soon she sat before him in nothing but her faded jeans and a rather garish tee shirt that seemed to depict a celestial cat in space. Momentarily distracted as he was by her garment, he was surprised when she spoke as if continuing an already-existing conversation in her head.

"She really will start telling everyone I have a boyfriend now. Maybe that will get everyone to leave me alone for a change. Not that I'm trying to say that you in particular would be my boyfriend," she added abruptly, and he looked up in time to see her gaze move dreamily away from the glass to study his face with embarrassment. "I mean not that I wouldn't date you, you're rather good looking and all. Not to say that I'm attracted to you or anything—"

Loki stared at the girl, whose cheeks became slowly redder under his gaze until she finally stopped talking altogether, leaving an awkward silence in her wake. She looked down at her hands and began to pluck absentmindedly at her fingernails, which he noticed were painted an obnoxious shade of neon orange. While she was distracted he gave himself a few moments to take in her appearance.

She was a pretty enough human, he had to admit, though not in any spectacular way. Her hair was long and wavy, a deep chestnut brown, and her full bangs framed her face nicely. With her many layers of clothing removed he could see that she was not a thin girl but rather curvy, and her skin was pale. She did not have the look of one who was often outside, but did not seem to be unhealthy for that fact. Though her eyes were a little small, they were a striking shade of amber. After some time she began to fidget under his scrutiny and seemed thoroughly relieved when her friend behind the counter had brought them their drinks and set them on the table, casting a backwards glance at them before walking back to the counter.

Loki watched as the girl used the peppermint stick to stir her hot chocolate and then mimicked her actions, having no idea what peppermint hot chocolate was supposed to be. When she lifted the ceramic mug into her hands and took a sip, an expression of pure joy brightened her features and she closed her eyes, a little moan escaping her lips. Bemused, Loki took a sip from his own mug.

The texture surprised him more than the taste did. While the drink was indeed an enjoyable sweetness, decadent to the extreme, the smoothness as it ran down the back of his throat was what he found himself liking the best. He took another swallow and repeated what he'd seen the girl do, stirring the brown liquid with the peppermint stick, and watched as it slowly lightened the shade of brown.

"Good, isn't it?"

"Yes," Loki admitted, watching her. "Why do you carry so many books?"

"Oh," Savannah started, looking over at them as if suddenly becoming aware of their quantity. "Well I do have a lot of pre-reading I have to do for my new classes starting in a few weeks. I mean obviously I don't have to do the research but I like to go into a class having a basic grasp of what I'm about to learn. The rest are just books I got for my own personal reading, which is probably my favorite thing to do anyway. Not that I don't do anything else," she added awkwardly, biting her lip and becoming far too interested in stirring her hot chocolate to be entirely plausible.

"So you're a student, then." Loki was aware of the stock humans placed upon higher learning and the institutions they had dedicated to knowledge; it was perhaps the one thing he appreciated about their kind.

"Mmm," she assented, taking a deep swig of the hot chocolate and then licking her lips appreciatively. His eyes fastened on her tongue with a flicker of greed.

Well if _that_ was why he was so taken by this girl, then so be it. Lust was something he could understand, having had his share of maidens and wenches alike back in Asgard. He doubted whether these two races of women were much different with their clothing removed. "And what do you study, Savannah?"

Her eyes widened slightly, as if she could sense the difference in his tone, or perhaps just because he was showing an interest in her. "I'm a psychology major. I'd like to be a grief counselor." Loki studied the girl, but she did not blush this time. She stirred her hot chocolate with the peppermint stick, her eyes distant and unseeing; he wondered what series of thoughts had removed her from the present. When she looked up at him again, she was smiling sadly. "My mom died when I was eleven, and I didn't have anyone to help me through it. So I'd like to help others."

"What about your father?" Loki couldn't believe he was asking this human girl questions, but found himself genuinely interested. If anyone knew what it was like to be abandoned by parents, it was he.

"He works a lot," Savannah muttered as she looked through Loki at something he could not see. "And he doesn't deal with grief very well. He preferred to bottle it up and pretend nothing had happened, even when I'd be crying and begging him to talk to me about her. So I grew up my own mother and father, I guess." She jolted and Loki saw her eyes snap back to his, like one realizing a flame was hot and yanking their hand away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to tell you my sob story. What do you do for a living, Lucas?"

"I don't work," he said evenly, taking another sip from his mug. The drink really was beginning to grow on him.

"What do you do all day, then?" She seemed to realize that the question had come off as rude because she quickly backpedalled, leaning towards him as she gripped the mug in her fingers. "If you don't work I mean, what do you do?"

"My family is wealthy." Loki left it at that, and his tone made it clear he was not prepared to discuss himself further.

"That must be sad," Savannah whispered, true heaviness shading her eyes. Loki met her gaze, appalled.

"Sad to be so wealthy that one need never to lift a finger in his life, should he choose not to?"

"No. Sad because if you don't get the opportunity to scrape by and earn things for yourself, you will likely never know true satisfaction." Loki gaped at Savannah, aghast and not without a little anger as his own, earlier thoughts about a drawn-out revenge upon his brother echoed in his mind. Who was this girl to assume she knew anything about him? When she saw his expression darken she leaned back against her booth, frowning. "I didn't mean to offend you, I'm sorry if I did. I can just see the sadness in your eyes."

At these words Loki scoffed, tilting his head back to gaze at the ceiling long enough to reign in his temper before looking back at her. "Sad? Me? You could not be farther from the truth. Today the greatest thing that could have happened in my life did."

"And that makes you feel what?"

Loki began to say how his heart had filled with triumph when his brother, captured by that ridiculous S.H.I.E.L.D. organization, had accepted his lies without a flicker of doubt and even thanked him for risking his own status to deliver him the sad news. He wanted to tell this finite human being that he was now the most powerful creature in the nine realms, and that she was as much his property as was the hot chocolate in her hands. Instead he gazed fixedly at her, and she smiled wistfully back at him.

"You're unhappy, Lucas. Whatever that greatest thing in your life that happened is, it doesn't bring you joy."

"How could you possibly think to know anything about me? You don't even know who I am. There is no proof I am in fact a man named Lucas. You are putting your blind faith in a complete stranger—didn't your parents ever tell you the dangers that come with such a choice?"

"You might be a stranger, and you might not even be a Lucas, but that doesn't mean I can't have an idea of who you are. Have you never been able to look in someone's eyes and get a sense of what makes them tick?"

Loki unwillingly found himself staring into her eyes, and realizing that he could see pain there, and loneliness, and a crippling sense of self-doubt. He hated her in that moment, as all of her words reached beneath his skin and scraped at his insides, begging for acknowledgement. She had no right to tell him things that he did not want to hear, this girl who had lived only a fraction of the lifetime that he himself had endured.

Abruptly he slid out of the booth and towered over Savannah, who did not move but gazed up at Loki as if she had anticipated just that reaction. This enraged him further, and he placed his hands on the table in front of her, bending down so that his face was directly in front of hers. She sucked her breath in at the closeness of him and no doubt at the iciness radiating from him, but did not flinch away.

"You are but a silly girl with no experience other than books to fill her head with, and you dare to talk to me with such conviction? It would do you well to learn your place in this world, Savannah."

"My place?" she whispered, not with fear but a trace of hurt lining her words. He could see her shoulders slump and took vindictive pleasure in that small proof of his triumph. Straightening himself and removing his hands from the table, Loki adjusted his trench coat and watched her, his jaw set.

"There is only the happiness that you take from others, girl. True happiness comes from revenge and power. You'd do well to take that to heart and stop your foolish daydreaming." He turned towards the coffee shop entrance.

As he was walking out the door, he heard the girl call out from the counter, "I think you pissed off your boyfriend, Anna."

"Shut up, Angie," was the barely discernible reply before Loki had walked out of the shop and turned towards the direction where the desert lay, and his waiting kingdom.


	2. Symptoms

Once he'd left the coffee shop, Loki magicked himself from the crowded street back to the desert portal. Let the mortals see and incite a riot of fear, what did he care? Soon they would all be on their knees before him and begging for their very lives, a mercy which he might not be so willing to give as he had once considered. He flexed his fingers angrily as he stepped into the portal, his thoughts a blur of exhilaration and frustration as a tunnel of light burst from the sky and he felt the familiar sensation of weightlessness, being teleported from one realm to the next within the confines of less than a second.

Landing lightly on the Bifröst, Loki immediately banished his Midgardian clothes and replaced them with his usual, ornate attire of black and green armor. He glanced down at himself and found his confidence return with the sight of his gold and elegant fabrics, and from the knowledge that an invisible border had been crossed from one world to the next which meant that his foolish indiscretions amongst the mortals did not follow him there . Jaw clenched, he proceeded towards the entrance where Heimdall stood, his back to Asgard and pale eyes fastened on Loki's approaching figure.

"I am not accustomed to being unable to see the whereabouts of those who leave the realm, Prince."

"Are you not?" Loki quipped, stopping to face the guardian with cold eyes. "Were you attempting to spy on me then, gatekeeper?"

"Merely doing my duty to protect this realm, Prince."

"As am I. While my father is in his Odinsleep and Thor remains banished to Midgard, I rule here. You'd do wise to remember that, Heimdall."

"Do you threaten me, Loki?"

"Oh no," Loki grinned, stepping so close towards him that their faces were mere inches apart. "I don't threaten. I am merely reminding you that your duty is to this realm and its ruler, a burden which for the time being has fallen upon my shoulders. You shall do as I tell you to, nothing more or less."

Heimdall stood frozen, his lip twitching once in what Loki was sure was the urge to slash at him with his great sword. Instead he nodded curtly and kept his eyes fastened on the heavens, and Loki pushed past him, choosing to embark on the long walk towards Valhalla rather than teleport himself there. He needed to sort out his thoughts before he could don the mask of court, something that he could not do with griping vassals surrounding him on every side.

The matter of what to do with that Midgard town hung heavy on his concerns. Loki was still fairly certain the easiest way to rid himself of the burden—and show the humans just how mighty his powers were—was to simply destroy the place. He thought of his brother's face when he came to find that his beloved Jane Foster had been incinerated, savoring the idea that Thor might fall to his knees and weep and finally feel the misery Loki felt was still too good for him. In his mind's eye Loki could see the charred corpses lining the streets and standing as a monument to hiss dominion over them all.

Unbidden to his mind, the girl in the coffee shop's face flittered across his vision, scalded like the others. The thought was not a pleasant one and, far from the walk soothing his rage, by the time he had reached the palace gate his mood had blackened. With an irritable twitch of his hand he waved away the guards who attempted to follow him as an honor guard, and he continued through the columns and into the throne room with his hands clasped behind his back, staring at the marble floors unseeingly as he paced up and down the stairs leading to the throne itself.

Why did this human girl torment him so? Her words had struck a chord in him, that much was true, so perhaps his rage at being made victim to human weakness was the cause of his preoccupation with her. Loki was not a man who could take pity from anyone, let alone some wisp of a girl whom he could crush with his bare hands. If that were the reason behind this distraction then he could merely have her killed. He could send a Destroyer to pulverize her, perhaps, or return himself and send an ice shard straight through her core.

Rather than cheering him up, these morbid thoughts only darkened his mood further. When the doors abruptly burst open and the sound of many approaching footsteps echoed in the hall, Loki turned slowly around, his eyes narrowed at the intrusion. Sif and her Warriors Three reached him and fell to their knees, Sif the last to do so and with ill grace. Loki glared at them all, silently detesting them.

"Your Majesty," Sif began, her voice dripping with barely-contained sarcasm, "we've come to petition that you release Thor from his banishment now that you have…ascended the throne."

Loki maintained an impassive expression as he met each of their gazes' in succession. The giant Volstagg, the dark Hogun, and the pretty boy Fandral all watched him in silence as Sif gazed at him steadily, the leader of their ragtag group of heroes. His brother's loyal companions—and far more dangerous if kept out of his sight than kept safely within his walls. Loki feigned a posture of contemplation as he paced leisurely in front of them, enjoying their discomfort as the lengthy silence spiraled uncomfortably.

"I see you are loyal to Thor in a way that you will never be loyal to me," he murmured. The three men all flinched and glanced at each other, but Sif met his gaze with venomous hate. "I trust that even if you don't believe in me, you at least believe in the will of the father Thor and I share, Odin. If you recall, it was he who banished my brother, not I."

None of them had anything to say to that for a few minutes. The men shuffled uneasily but Sif finally appeared to lose control of her courtly propriety and raised herself, the anger fading from her features to be replaced with anxious desperation. "Loki, please. You alone can undo what your father has done. You have that power now and you know that Thor meant well, he just made a poor decision. You can free him and together rule Asgard."

Loki laughed quietly, watching as Sif leaned towards him in her foolish hope to hear that Thor would be returned to them. Nearly everyone in the realm remained oblivious to the woman's passion for his brother, but Loki was not blind. He saw what others were unable to witness through the haze of their own comfortable beliefs, and he knew that this valiant female warrior loved Thor more than life itself. That made her a dangerous enemy, indeed.

"Sif, you believe I could bring myself to undo my father's last direct order? What will I do when he awakens and must inform him that I brought back the son he exiled for endangering the kingdom? You must trust me when I say that I cannot bring Thor back—at least not until our father has awoken and I have had a chance to plead Thor's case before him. You are dismissed."

None of them dared disobey a direct order from the ruling Prince of the realm, though it was with a perceptible animosity that they raised themselves and left the throne room, Sif glancing over her shoulder to glare at Loki before the guards shut the door behind them. Loki collapsed onto the throne and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingertips.

He needed Thor alive for the time being or else he risked alienating the entirety of the kingdom, and he needed Odin alive for the simple fact that he would be the primary suspect should he die. The question was how he could bring about their deaths while maintaining the presence of being the underdog Prince whose family has been torn asunder by tragedy. Such a plot would take clever planning and outside help. Well, he was still owed a favor… But he couldn't think about that, not yet. Not tonight.

Exhausted, Loki pulled himself to his feet and exited the throne room through a doorway that led directly to the branch of the palace that held the royal chambers. He followed the familiar path towards his own section of the wing, the same path he had taken for as long as he could recall in living memory. Thor and he had forever shared one, large corridor of rooms: Thor's the right half and Loki's the left. While he did not miss having Thor around, the place felt oddly empty knowing that he was the only living being in the immediate vicinity.

Shutting the doors to his bedchamber behind him, Loki sat on his enormous canopy bed, elbows on his knees as he ran his fingers through his hair. Though he'd spoken the truth to the human girl and had indeed achieved what he'd always wanted with his brother's permanent exile, he felt little pleasure at the realization. For one, he was unable to claim Mjolnir for his own, which would prove to be problematic unless he could find a way to break the enchantment Odin had placed upon the weapon. Instead of a genius plan forming, Loki found himself simply brooding over how to best rid the realm of Odin so that he might finally gain full supremacy. Just the thought of Odin set Loki's blood to boiling. All he'd ever wanted, all he had ever tried to do was please the man whom he thought was his father, but how could such a man love the runty child of his enemy? Of course Thor would be the favorite, and no doubt Odin thought the kingdom doomed should Loki himself ascend the throne. When he awoke he might even banish Loki to Jotunheim altogether, as he certainly didn't seem fond of the idea of him replacing Thor as heir to the throne. Instead Loki might be condemned to be the prince of ice and collapsed ruin.

A gentle rapping on the oak doors to his chambers snapped Loki out of his reverie. Though his head remained in his hands, he glared up at the doors and was tempted to refuse the seeker entrance. Just as quickly he realized that he did not have the stamina to face going out into the court once more, as he would be expected to for the royal dinner with his mother and the nobles of the court, thus would be better off milking his weariness so that he could avoid the dinner without raising suspicion. "Enter," he finally called out dully.

The doors opened and a serving girl entered, carrying a silver-covered platter in her hands. She curtsied to Loki and he flicked his hand once to show his permission to approach him. He'd seen the girl on occasion serving the royal family their meals, though she had usually been too preoccupied ogling Thor to have been paid much mind to. She was rather bland in appearance, with lank, light brown hair and a too-pink face, but her dress was cinched in tight to accentuate her curves and display a heavy bosom. She approached him shyly, curtsied once more, and set the platter on the table near where he sat. When she turned to leave his hand shot out and tightened around her wrist.

The servant started in fright, staring down at Loki as if afraid he was going to punish her. "M-my Lord?"

"You loved my brother, Thor." Loki got to his feet, towering over the woman who was looking up at him as a mouse would a cat. "I've seen how you look at him. Did it sadden you to learn that he had betrayed his people by endangering us all?" The girl nodded quickly, too terrified to answer him directly. He did not loosen his grip on her wrist, bending slightly so that he could better see her face. "Do you accept me as your King while Odin lies in his sleep?"

Again the girl nodded, but her fear was tempered with something far more feverish than just apprehension of her master. He could feel her hand trembling and could see her cleavage rising and falling rapidly as her breathing escalated. Boldly she guided his hand to her breast, igniting a fire in him. His other hand darted towards her chest and in one, swift motion he had ripped open her bodice. The servant gasped but did not cover herself. She stood there proudly, a smug grin on her face as her Prince raked in her bare breasts with lustful eyes. When he leaned down to take a pink nipple in his lips she stopped him with a finger to his lips.

"Does My Lord give me permission to please him?"

Loki stared at the woman. She did not flinch from his gaze and he realized what a skilled liar the girl must be, to maintain the appearance of shy servant but behind closed doors to become a harlot. He nodded tightly and she reached towards the fastenings of his pants, untying the bindings with expert fingers. She lowered herself to her knees and tugged down his pants enough so that she could pull his semi-hard cock into the light. With a lascivious grin she took him in her hands, one stroking the shaft while the other cupped the sensitive mounds of flesh beneath it, and Loki closed his eyes with a groan. Under her skilled fingers it was not long until he was fully erect, and the woman began to tease him with small flicks of her tongue on the tip of his penis. Impatient, Loki gripped the girl's head with her hair and pushed himself inside of her open mouth. She did not protest but gagged slightly as she struggled against his sizable thickness, and Loki felt a thrill of pleasure that she was unable to take him in her mouth completely. The woman managed to find a rhythm and soon Loki had his head tilted back in pleasure as he groaned, guiding the woman's head with his fingers locked in her hair.

Nearing completion, Loki opened his eyes and looked down at the woman to watch as he came in her mouth. She looked up at him and Loki knew a surge of panic when, her face distorted by the angle and light from the candles lining the walls and her hair disheveled from his hands, for a brief moment she resembled the human girl from the coffee shop. The shock of her face in his mind, unconsciously transplanted onto that of the serving girl's, brought his orgasm rocking almost painfully through his body and spurting into the woman's throat. She swallowed with the ease of one well-practiced, and for some reason that sent a wave of revulsion coursing through Loki. He tossed her bodily away from him by her hair, and she gasped as she landed on her backside, looking up at him in confusion.

"Leave," he commanded and watched, expression stony, as she scrambled to her feet, backing out of the room with her head downcast and her hands struggling to cover her breasts with the remains of her bodice. When she'd left Loki dropped back onto his bed and pulled the tray of food towards himself, lifting the lid half-heartedly. Inside was a large plate of roast chicken and vegetables, a corked bottle of wine in a bucket of ice, and a delicate pastry. Instantly ravenous at the sight he picked up the silverware and began to eat, so deep in his own thoughts that he barely took notice of the food as he chewed. He poured himself some wine and drank greedily, wanting the relief of a mind made placid with alcohol.

_That damn human girl again_, he thought bitterly as the wine began to take effect._ I need to rid my thoughts of her. _If he was imagining his cock in her mouth and coming at the very thought of it, then maybe he just needed to return to Midgard and take her, fast and hard. He'd heard of situations where men became so fervent over a woman that they could think of nothing else until they'd had their way with her. Once they did, they immediately lost interest, an automatic cure to an itch Loki was unable to scratch himself. Though Loki himself had had countless women, none of them had inspired any true lust in him. They were convenient and pleasing in some form or another, and once they'd served their purpose he'd left and not looked back. He couldn't recall ever having the same girl more than once, in any case.

His meal finished and two glasses of wine tossed back, Loki replaced the lid on the silver platter and stood up. He stripped off his armor and clothing, tossing the garments across a sofa near the wall where his closet was, standing there in his rooms naked and with a strange sense of emptiness. He walked over to the window that consisted of the upper half of his wall overlooking the kingdom, and leaned against the cold stone and glass as he watched sullenly the glimmering lights of the heavens surrounding Asgard on all sides.

A human girl, this Savannah, was the cause of his sickness that needed to be dealt with, and swiftly. Tomorrow he would return to the Earth town of New Mexico and bury his cock so deep inside of her that she would be nearly split in two, and her screams and tears would be the balm to the open wound that had been festering since she'd bumped into him on that busy street. There was no other way, and Loki refused to be left vulnerable.

Weary, feeling physically ill, Loki returned to his bed and slid beneath the covers. He'd normally have bathed before bed—especially with a harlot's saliva still lingering on his pelvic region—but all he wanted to do was sleep. He pulled the downy blanket up to his waist and snaked one arm under his pillow, resting his other arm on the pillow to the other side of his head. The brunette continued to dance tantalizingly close in his dreamy musings, sometimes blushing as she stammered herself into silence, other times looking up at him with his cock encased in her mouth.

_I'll deal with you tomorrow_, he promised the girl silently as he drifted off into a fitful sleep.


	3. Svartalfheim

Sunlight streamed in through the glass wall, blinding Loki into wakefulness. He groaned and attempted to pull the covers over his head, but too late. Shoving the covers back he swung his legs out of the bed and sat there for a moment to fully alert his mind, squinting in the brightness of morning. He glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it read ten in the morning. Had he really slept so long? Usually he only rested a few hours before complete restoration, and he was certain he had fallen asleep no later than midnight.

Yet when he stood up and stretched, Loki could not deny that he felt more relaxed than he had in months. Perhaps he had needed his own form of Odinsleep after all that had happened in the realm recently, and it was with renewed vigor that he strode over to the bathroom attached to his bedchambers. The entire room was luxurious, with every surface made of white marble and the fixtures of solid gold. There was yet another wall of glass overlooking the city and the room itself was nearly as large as his bedchamber itself. In the corner nearest the glass wall sat a colossal bath tub, and it was there that Loki directed his feet. Adjusting the knobs so that scalding hot water began to fill the basin, Loki took the jar of his preferred soap—a rather unique, woodsy aroma from Alfheim that he had been partial to since childhood—and poured a generous amount of it into the rising water.

Though he would never have admitted it to any living soul, Loki was fond of taking his long baths. There was a comfort in allowing himself leisure time to soak in the water and unwind as he cleaned the filth of the day from his body. That was where he found himself able to sew his thoughts together and devise new solutions to the quandaries that needed unraveling, where he had always been able to be not the cunning, second-born prince of the realm, but Loki. He lowered himself into the tub, moaning in pleasure as his skin protested at the heat and goose bumps spread across his body.

Loki titled his head back into the water, running his fingers through his hair to cleanse it as he found himself following the familiar line of thought he always arrived at: problem-solving. One by one he ticked off the issues that needed to be dealt with. Odin must be kept from awaking and reclaiming his throne. If he were to die while in such a vulnerable state, however, even if the official explanation were to be given as natural causes while in his Odinsleep, Loki would forever be suspect. He could not risk alienating the Asgardians so soon after obtaining the throne. No, that could not happen, but Loki was certain that Odin would remain in his coma for a while longer yet, and he could deal with that particular problem later.

The most pressing matter was Thor. He could not be kept by the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization and used as a potential weapon, should they find a way to reunite him with Mjolnir. He must be removed from Midgard and taken somewhere safe, where there would be no chance of him being discovered or of escaping from. Asgard was out of the question; there was very little chance he could be smuggled into the realm with no one noticing their beloved, exiled prince had returned to them. So if not Asgard, in which realm could Thor be safely stashed away? Where could he hide as dangerous a foe as his brother?

In a flash of inspiration Loki's eyes opened wide, staring in shock at the ceiling as the sheer simplicity of his realization washed over him. Grinning he rose to his feet, dripping water as he pulled a towel from the rack behind him and drying himself as he stepped over the side of the basin and onto the chilled floor. So jubilant was Loki that by the time he had returned to his bedchamber and was beginning to pull on fresh garments, he was startled when a knock pounded on the oak doors. "Enter," he called, fastening his armor.

In came the servant girl from the night prior, her eyes concentrating on the ground as she dipped into a respectful curtsy. "Your mother the Queen bade me ask you to come to her chambers at once."

_Of course she is my mother's maid,_ Loki thought with exasperation as the message behind the both the girl and her tray of food became apparent.

"Very well." Loki turned his back to the girl, dismissing her, and he heard her hurry out of the room and shut the doors behind her. After his treatment of her the night before he wasn't surprise she feared him, though, the smugness of his stroke of inspiration still keeping his mood light, he thought that she should really consider herself grateful he hadn't fucked her until she'd bled like he had so many others.

A stream of memories burst into Loki's mind and he froze, remembering the human girl from the day before who had so inflamed him, and his vowing to avenge himself upon her for doing so. His eyes darted towards the sunlight streaming in through his wall and he gave himself a moment to consider what he should do. The girl had mentioned something about being home from her school for the holidays, so she was not likely to go anywhere; and even if she did, Loki would find her. He could have her once he had finished with his business. _A little dessert after a hard day at work,_ he mused to himself with grim satisfaction.

Loki made his way out of the wing belonging now entirely to him and into the main landing which housed the entrance to the other hallway belonging to Odin and Frigga, King and Queen of Asgard. Their wing was much larger and more ornate than Thor's and his was, and Loki could remember as a child how they used to have races up and down the corridor early in the morning, thick as thieves in a mutual desire to annoy their father. They would only stop when Odin would come out of his bedchamber in his sleeping gown, yelling himself hoarse, and they would run back to their own wing, laughing merrily.

_But what is the point in being nostalgic?_ Loki wondered vaguely as he approached the door leading to the royal bedchamber, pausing only momentarily before knocking the door. Immediately the door was opened by the servant girl, who would not look him in the eye as he brushed past her and entered the cavernous room, bowing deeply to Frigga. "Mother," he murmured. "You wished to see me?"

"Yes," Frigga sighed heavily from the chair alongside Odin's bed that she sat reclining in. Loki managed to avoid looking at the King's sleeping form as much as possible. "Leave us, Stina." The maid complied, curtsying deeply to the Queen before doing the same, rather awkwardly, to Loki, who ignored her completely as she bustled out of the chamber, closing the door behind her.

"Thank you for your gift, Mother. Both of them," he added shrewdly.

Frigga managed a weak grin for her youngest son. "I figured you would not want to attend a royal dinner any more than I did. And that you might enjoy a bit of company," she smiled up at Loki, who felt his heart soften slightly.

Despite his feelings towards Odin, regardless of what he knew to be his true parentage, the elegant woman before him was perhaps the one being that Loki had any true feelings for. She had been the one to raise him, always the one to nurse him day and night when he had fallen ill and always the one to cuddle him when he'd woken from a nightmare and come running into his parents' chamber, soothing him until he fell asleep in her arms. Odin might not be his father, but Frigga was as much his mother as anyone could ever be.

"How are you holding up?" he asked quietly as he walked towards where she sat in an armchair, kneeling down by her side and laying a hand lightly on her arm. He remembered crawling onto her lap as a child and playing with those long, blonde curls with innocent wonder at how her hair could be so fair while his was so dark. Now he knew the truth of it, but could not find it in himself to begrudge Frigga her lie of his parentage. Not when she had loved him so truly, so equally to her own, biological son.

"I'm frightened, Loki," Frigga whispered, clenching his hand with the one not held in place by his own. "I'm frightened for your brother and that he might never return to us. I'm frightened for Odin and that he might never wake. He's never collapsed into Odinsleep before, he's always gone willingly to his slumber. What if he cannot come back to us this time?"

"I am sure he will, Mother. Father has always been strong."

Frigga leaned over so that she could kiss his forehead and then rested her forehead against his. The physical touch was slightly uncomfortable for Loki but he did not break the contact—Frigga was the only one whom he allowed such intimacy. "I pray that you are right, Loki. Our family is shattered and all we have left is each other," she whispered, tears falling from her eyes and onto Loki's cheeks. "Promise me that you will keep yourself safe, my son. I couldn't bear to lose you, too."

Loki raised himself to his feet and kissed his mother's hands before pecking her lightly on both cheeks. "Do not fear for my safety, Mother. I plan to rule this kingdom while Father is unable, and you know that I can take care of myself. Please do not worry, and don't shut yourself in this room all day and night. Let yourself be taken care of by your maids and be seen by the Asgardians. They need their Queen now more than ever."

Frigga gazed up at her son with a hint of wonder on her face. "You have become a wiser man that even I knew, Loki," she admitted as she pulled herself unsteadily to her feet, Loki assisting her with a hand to her elbow. "Of course you are right. I will not hide away while the kingdom is in such a state of fear." She paused before rising on tip toe to kiss Loki on the bridge of his nose as she had done so often in his youth. "I love you."

The words clenched painfully at his heart, and it was somewhat awkwardly that he returned the same peck to her nose he'd used to as a child after she had kissed his. "And you, Mother." He then turned and left the royal bedchambers, grateful to have a mission to do.

* * *

Svartalfheim was a bleak world even in the best of times. Now, during the harsh winter season, the mountainous terrain was covered in snow and the muddy grounds slick with near-freezing water. Loki emerged from the portal, unaffected by the icy air. He'd never noticed before but, now that he was aware of his roots, Loki realized that he had never once been truly cold. Smirking slightly he vanished on the spot, reappearing at the base of the mountain where large, steel doors stood guarded by four dwarves, all sporting various, lethal-looking weapons.

"State your business," one of them—the most senior amongst them, by the look of it—demanded as Loki appeared in front of them. Clearly they were not used to magic and had come to be mistrustful of those who dabbled in it, and they clenched their weapons tightly in their hands as he approached, hands raised in supplication.

"I am Loki, Prince of Asgard. I wish to speak to Sindri."

The elder dwarf glowered at him, apparently torn between disbelief towards Loki's statement and fear that it might be true. "One minute," the dwarf grumbled, raising his wrist to his mouth. A holographic sphere appeared which he then spoke into, eyes never leaving Loki's face. "Loki of Asgard to see Sindri." There was a crackling and then silence for a long minute before another voice emitted from the sphere.

"Let him in."

The doors opened and Loki entered the mountainside behind the eldest dwarf, admittedly impressed by the view that awaited him. Inside the mountain the dwarves seemed to have carved out so much of it that the thing appeared hollow. All around him they were milling about, some chatting as they ate haunches of meat or meat pies acquired from a cafeteria area to Loki's left, and others disappearing into carts that rushed out of sight down open chutes located all around the vast room. The dwarf leading Loki motioned for him to follow through another set of large, steel doors set against the far side of the room. Once inside, the doors shut behind them and cut out all white noise of the bustling dwarves.

"Follow me," the elder dwarf said, shouldering his great hammer and starting off down a long, chilly hallway. Doors were located on either side the entire way but there was no activity in this portion of the enclave. Loki had the vague impression that this entire mountain had at one time been far more majestic than its current situation, and this bode well for his plan; the more desperate these dwarves, the better. When they reached the end of the hall there was another set of steel doors upon which the elder dwarf knocked three times. The doors promptly opened and Loki was led into a cavernous room that was smaller than the entryway but far more impressive.

Everywhere Loki looked there were gadgets and armors and weapons of the likes he had never before seen. One weapon in particular—a blade seemingly made out of molten lava—caught his eye and he was lost in admiration for both the craftsmanship and the potential power from owning such a weapon when a voice behind him chuckled.

"Nice, isn't it?"

The elderly dwarf had sat upon the high-backed chair located at the work bench in the center of the room, watching Loki closely as he sat the great hammer down beside the chair and then plopped himself alongside it.

"You're Sindri." The words were not a question, and Loki was mildly impressed that the old dwarf had managed to fool him, the described God of Mischief.

"And you are the Prince who calls himself King," Sindri said with a twitch of his greying beard.

"With Odin in his Odinsleep and Thor banished I am the natural—"

"—successor, I know. How very convenient for you."

Loki bristled at the tone underlying the dwarf's words but kept his tongue steady. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed the dwarf's favor. "How did you know I would be coming?"

"Dwarves might not have magic but we do have ways of detecting invaders and foreigners in our lands. I knew you were here the moment you crossed through our portal."

"That was a quick reaction," Loki mused as he walked around the room, taking in the various items displayed that the elder dwarf had no doubt created himself. "Tell me, how did you make it so quickly from this room to the mountain entrance?"

"Again, we might not have magic but we have means of replicating the same effects. See that door there?" Sindri pointed to one near the back of the room, which looked much like the ones they had passed on the way back here. "These all have chutes that link to two rooms: this one and the entrance hall. In case of an emergency, you understand."

"I see," Loki replied, his eyes fastening on the molten sword. "What is this?"

"A blade I crafted from the forge of Surtr himself. There is none like it in the nine realms."

"You have been to Muspelheim?" Loki turned around and stared at the dwarf, finally appreciating why he was known as the unofficial King of the Dwarves. "You have been to Surtr's forge itself?"

"Asgardians are not the only mighty beings in the realm, Loki of Asgard. Yes I have been there, and I lost many good dwarves in the process of acquiring access to that forge. Still, in the end it was worth the losses as this blade is made from the fires of Muspelheim using Dwarven technology, and it is the one weapon in existence which could destroy Surtr—which is perhaps why he hates us Dwarves so direly and yet refuses to ever invade."

"Very clever," Loki assented, watching Sindri with new-found respect. This was not a man to be bullied, that much was made quite clear by the way Sindri watched him with polite interest and no hint of apprehension.

"Glad you think so, sorcerer. So tell me, Loki of Asgard, what can I do for you?"

"I need a prison capable of holding someone for an eternity, one that is impenetrable and inescapable."

"Allow me to take a shot in the dark as to who this prison is meant for. Could it be your beloved brother, Thor?" A muscle worked in Loki's jaw but, after a moment, his head jerked in affirmation. "And why should I risk the wrath of Odin who, by all accounts, could be waking any moment now and assuming his throne?"

"Because I can assure you that Odin's reign is over," Loki said smoothly, approaching the dwarf slowly and with his hands visible to his sides so as to show he was no threat. "That deal is already struck. All I need is a place to keep Thor so that he can never escape."

"Why not kill him? That seems the much more…practical solution." Sindri clasped his fingers together in his lap as he leaned back in his chair, elbows propped comfortably on the arm rests.

"I do not want Thor dead." There was a chill to Loki's tone that brought one, bushy eyebrow to rising on Sindri's face.

"Because he is your brother," Sindri finished sagely. Loki chewed his tongue so as not to speak, but knew that the old dwarf would see directly through any lie he might utter, no matter how much skill the lie was uttered with. "And tell me, would-be King, what I might get out of this arrangement should I choose to assist you?"

A smile livened Loki's face and he placed his hands on the workbench, leaning towards the dwarf eagerly. "I promise that when I have conquered all of the realms and Muspelheim finally falls to me, you will become the new master of Surtr's forge."

The promise visibly startled Sindri, who gripped the sides of his chair in alarm as he leaned in towards Loki, his eyebrows plummeting downwards as he concentrated deeply on the Asgardian's face. "You swear this? That I and my men will be the masters of Surtr's forge?"

"If you will consent to do so as my personal weapon smiths, I will swear it."

Sindri chewed his lip and tugged at his beard anxiously, lost in thought. Loki let the dwarf's thoughts race and waited patiently, allowing the bait to linger in the air and taunt him until finally Sindri stood up. He was half the height of Loki but imposing nonetheless, and he reached out a thick, calloused hand.

"You have yourself a deal, Loki of Asgard." Loki reached out and accepted the handshake, and then Sindri walked around the table towards the chute door. "I will prepare one of our dungeons for Thor, all you must do is bring him here. We will keep him secured for you as long as you deem necessary." Sindri motioned courteously into the chute for Loki to enter, but Loki just smirked.

"I'm a sorcerer, dwarf. Remember?"

Loki vanished and reappeared at the portal on the outskirts of Svartalfheim, satisfied with the way his plans were falling into place. Snow had begun to fall during his time in the mountain and it landed lightly on the exposed parts of his skin, cool to the touch but not unpleasantly so. Jotunheim was the next realm due a visit, but Loki decided that would wait.

_First,_ Loki thought as he stepped into the portal and was swept up into a beam of light, _there is a girl in New Mexico I owe a visit to._


	4. Inside Voices

Though Loki detested asking for help in any form, there was absolutely no chance that he was going to allow Heimdall to discover that he was searching for a human girl in Midgard by asking him to locate Savannah. As such he found himself following the same path he had taken the day before until he had reached the coffee shop she had led him to. He'd not expected to see her inside, but had almost half-wished she was just so that he didn't have to resort to such repulsive measures as approaching the girl behind the counter who, upon seeing him standing there watching her, lifted her eyebrows in surprise.

"Can I help you?"

"Actually," he began, fighting to keep his tone polite, "I'm looking for the girl you saw me here with yesterday."

"Savannah?"

"Yes." The smirk on the girl's expression made Loki want to blast her into the wall.

"Well considering it's still early afternoon, your best bet would be to check the library. She volunteers there she's when home from school."

Without a word of thanks Loki turned and left, heading in the direction where he'd remembered seeing the town's library the day before. The walk was not a long one, but as he was now paying more attention he was surprised that such a small town could have such a large place dedicated solely to books. Certainly it was much grander than any of the surrounding establishments, all of which bore the unmistakable plainness of small-town scale. Once inside the library he immediately looked to the large reception area on the left to see if the girl was there, and knew a moment of disappointment when he saw she wasn't. Annoyed, he approached the counter where a middle-aged woman sat reading a harlequin romance novel. He waited until she had looked up from her book, startled to find him watching her.

"Hello, may I help you?" the woman asked somewhat breathlessly.

"I'm looking for Savannah."

"Are you now?" The woman's eyes did a quick once-over of Loki's appearance. That day he'd chosen to wear a black suit with an emerald green dress shirt and a beige overcoat, preferring, as always, to stand out rather than to blend in. Even though he was incognito, he still enjoyed showing a certain grandeur. "Well she's probably over in the children's section still. Straight ahead, follow the curve to the right."

Loki veered off in the direction the librarian had pointed to and within moments found himself in a bright, circular room that was unmistakably the children's section. The walls were painted pale green and had animal murals spreading the entire way around, and the brightly colored rugs and chairs were nearly blinding in their lurid, neon shades. At the center of the space sat a group of perhaps fifteen children, listening with rapt attention as a girl sat cross-legged in front of them, reading from an open book in her hands. Savannah was undoubtedly a dedicated storyteller, and with each new character she supplied the voice for, her pitch and attitude would change as her body language reflected that of the character she embodied.

Loki's first thought was that the sight of her reading—rather foolishly and unashamedly—to a group of small children was an enjoyable one. There was a long moment of this unfamiliar thought process before he remembered why specifically he had come and mentally shook himself, forcing himself to instead focus on studying her appearance while she remained so oblivious to his presence.

That day she had chosen to wear black, stretchy leggings under her knee-high boots and baggy flannel shirt. When she rose to her knees so that she could wave her first in the air at a particularly emphatic character monologue, Loki got a good view of the shape of her legs. She was curved nicely, and the sight of her thighs sent a prickling of heat to the pit of his stomach. Yet even as he allowed himself to contemplate her with gradually rising lust, he remembered her shyness from the day before, and wondered if she had any confidence at all beneath that quiet exterior. Experience told him that self-conscious women were usually a bore in bed, and the baggy shirt that passed over her hips and concealing boots, combined with the way she let her waves fall loose around her face and bangs hide down to her eyebrows, gave off the aura of one who did not want to be seen.

So absorbed was Savannah that at first she didn't notice Loki as he stared at her. He stood silently, leaning against the wall and half-smirking as he waited for her to finish. When she had glanced over and made eye contact, her cheeks burned a delicious pink and he could see the merest flash of irritation cross her face before disappearing, replaced once more by her cheerful smile. She ignored him completely as she finished the chapter, though her movements became much more reserved under his scrutiny. When she closed the book with a flourish one of the children sat up on her knees, bopping in excitement.

"Read more, Anna!"

There was a general outcry of assent but Savannah merely smiled and shook her head, pulling herself to her feet. "You guys know the rules, two chapters a day. Now go on, go outside and have fun." There was a mad rush as all of the kids got to their feet and pushed and shoved each other as they hurried to exit the glass doors leading to what, Loki realized, was a playground behind the library. He watched as Savannah picked up the books that had been left on the rug and set them on the table, letting a wall of hair hang between her face and his contemplation of her.

"I didn't think I'd be seeing you again," she said tonelessly as she walked towards the shelves, replacing the books with rather more force than was necessary. "Have you come to show me my place?"

Loki watched her with amusement, a broad grin slowly spreading his lips. _I got under her skin… She might be as furious with me as I am with her._

"Actually I've come to apologize."

Savannah froze, the copy of Box Car Children in her hand half-shoved into its place on the bookshelf. She turned to look at him, and he could see mistrust etched on her face. "I didn't gather you were the sort to apologize."

"Well you'd be right," Loki murmured amiably as he approached her, and he noticed her grip the books in the crook of her arm more tightly. "I am not the sort to apologize. Even so, I realized after I'd left that I'd behaved quite tactlessly yesterday after you'd been so kind as to buy me hot chocolate. I'm very sorry that I snapped at you."

He could almost hear the speed of thoughts rushing through Savannah's head as she stood there, staring into his eyes with careful calculation. Yet it was no fluke that he was a master of illusion; he could convince anyone of whatever he desired them to believe, and with ease. After a long moment of their held gaze, she abruptly turned away from him, resuming her organizing of books. "I don't believe you."

"Come again?" Loki took in her sudden ardor with mute surprise, and allowed her to approach him without backing away.

"I don't believe you," she repeated, clutching the books to her chest like a lifeline as she stood in front of him, her eyes narrowed. "You think that I don't know you, Lucas, but I've encountered many like you before. You smile but the warmth doesn't reach your eyes, and charming words escape your beautiful lips, but they are just that: words. Now I don't know why you chose to come back here, but you can rest assured that after yesterday I will never be bothering you again so you can just take your apology and go."

And with that Savannah brushed passed him, her harsh words softened slightly by the way she trembled as she did so. Even so, Loki was an Asgardian prince. Humans did not just turn their backs to him, and in his shock he called out with indignation, "Are you walking away from me?"

Savannah stopped and turned to face him, exasperated. "Yes I'm walking away from you, it's called a dramatic exit." When she turned to walk away again Loki was alongside her in a moment, his eyes boring into the side of her head.

"I am not one to be brushed aside so easily, Savannah."

"Are you threatening me?" she asked incredulously, gripping her books tighter in either anger or fear, Loki couldn't tell which, as he stared into her widened eyes. They entranced him for a moment and he blinked, forcefully pulling himself out of their depths.

"I merely state fact." Loki watched her, incredulity dawning and bringing with it a soft laugh. "You fear me and yet you stand up to me, regardless."

"I don't fear you!" she whispered hotly before turning to resume her dramatic exit. Loki caught her arm and held her in place. Her eyes stared at his hand on her arm before slowly moving up to meet his gaze.

"You do fear me, Savannah. Yesterday you looked into my eyes and claimed to be able to see what made me tick. Perhaps you are not the only one with that ability."

Savannah stared at him in undisguised shock that he had taken her words to heart. Perhaps it was this that ebbed away her vexation and brought her to finally face him, still holding the books against her heart. "Alright. So maybe I do fear you, but can you blame me? I have no idea who you are and neither does anyone else in this town. I've asked around but no one can remember seeing you before yesterday, and you are certainly too well-dressed to be anyone with any ties to this place. So who are you then, Lucas?"

Loki felt a brief gratification at the confirmation that she had indeed been as frustrated as he, if she had gone around trying to figure out his identity. This only inflamed him further and he took a step towards her so that he was treading upon her personal space; he saw her knuckles turn white as she gripped the books. "Is it really all that important who I am?" He reached out his hands towards her and she blanched, but he merely took the books from her arms and set them on the table behind him before turning his gaze back to her. He was satisfied to see that without the books as a shield, her fingers were clutching self-consciously at the stretchy material of her leggings and her chest rose and fell rapidly.

"Most people tend to know about each other if they are to become friends, generally speaking." Her words came out in a breathless rush that sent a bolt of fire through his core for, though perhaps she didn't recognize the lust lining her own quavering voice, Loki certainly did.

"Friends," he repeated, taking a step closer so that they were nearly touching. "Who said anything about friends?"

Savannah shivered and automatically reached up to play with a lock of hair nervously, her eyes staring fixedly at the grey carpeted floor. She couldn't seem to find words and her breathing became more escalated, but she didn't move away as he leaned forward, his face inching closer to her trembling lips. He saw the moment where she closed her eyes in submission before—

"Savannah! Your sister is on the line, she says you aren't answering your cell and she's in a hurry!"

Savannah jolted as if by an electric shock and Loki's eyes snapped to the woman behind the counter, but she was once more reading her book and did not see the glare of seething anger he gave her. "I have to go!" Savannah cried out with a hint of hysteria, hurrying towards the door. Loki followed her.

"Come with me." Loki watched the emotions flit across the girl's face in quick succession: shock, curiosity, excitement, fear, and then finally embarrassment. Her cheeks burned and Loki knew she was thoroughly beguiled, a realization which stoked the flame in his core.

"I can't," she whispered, looking up at him with both terror and confused fascination. "My sister is taking me to dinner, I can't—" and with that she turned and fled the library. Loki followed her out onto the steps and watched her running down the sidewalk before opening the passenger seat of a car just down the block. She glanced at him before disappearing inside of the vehicle, and then the car pulled out onto the street and rounded the corner.

Loki stood still for a long moment, boiling underneath the surface but momentarily stunned into a disbelieving numbness. After a few seconds he erupted and aimed a kick at the mailbox, denting it in his rage.

_ What the fuck are you doing?_ He yelled internally, rooted to the spot in an effort to keep from unleashing his wrath and destroying everything around him. _You let her get away! You could have just grabbed her and magicked her somewhere deserted and fucked her senseless! Have you lost your nerve? Are you growing weak, like Thor?_

The thought sent a burst of panic through Loki's limbs and he closed his eyes, fingers on his brow to concentrate. _No, this is nothing like Thor and that woman. I am not weak enough to lov_—he paused, refusing even to say the repugnant word to himself. Instead he began with rapid speed to walk down the sidwalk, his mind racing.

Perhaps he had been giving into a weakness by indulging the girl, he thought bitterly as he turned a corner unseeingly. Was he some pathetic mortal, to run around with his tail tucked between his legs and allowing a woman to conquer his reason? No. No, he would not allow that to happen, not anymore. The knowledge that his intended goal of fucking the girl until she bled to cure himself of this fever had not only not come to pass but had backfired, left him overcome with a chasm in his core that soon filled with a bitter hatred. Loki needed release; if he didn't find one he might just end up on a killing spree on the very realm he hoped to conquer.

"Excuse me," a voice purred to his left. Loki paused and glanced over. Without realizing he'd ended up on what must have been the outskirts of town, as no one else was roaming the streets. A young woman was leaning against the edge of a brick building, biting her lower lip as she appraised Loki. Even in the winter season she wore only a long-sleeved dress and knee-high boots with fur peeking over the tops, hints of her bronzed skin taunting him. Her long, blonde hair was perfectly straightened and her face was doll-like. "My mother wants me to take this sign down to clean, but I'm too short," she grinned mischievously up at Loki as she motioned to the sign hanging from in front of what read to be a beauty store. "Could you get it down for me?"

Fury still bubbling in his veins, Loki reached up and grabbed it, his eyes never leaving hers as he pulled it down off the hooks. She reached out her hands to accept the sign and smiled seductively at him. In a flash he had grabbed her and vanished with her into the narrow alley around the side of the store, shoving her roughly against the brick wall. She gasped; the wind was knocked out of her and at first she did nothing when he ground his pelvis into her belly, his thoughts still back at the library as he stiffened against her.

She moaned then, in fear or pleasure or both, but when he reached down to lift her dress she tried to stop him. "What are you do—" He silenced her with a hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened and she began to writhe against him and struggle to get away, but Loki was too powerful. He held her up against the wall with one hand and unfastened his pants with the other, keeping her legs spread with his thighs. He then pulled aside her panties and plunged his cock into her unprepared body.

The girl's cry was stifled by his hand and he could feel her hot breath against his flesh as he pummeled into her, placing all of his rage and confusion and bitterness into every sharp thrust. She was dry and the sensation was painful even for him, and with every movement the girl groaned and cried out. Soon she went limp under his hold and he could feel her body beginning to accommodate him. Feeling her wetness, he met the girl's eyes and saw they were glazed, not with trauma but with pleasure. He could feel her slick insides gripping him and her hips rolling against his, and he felt another flash of fury overtake him as he thrust into her with as much force as he could, needing to feel her fear him. She screamed under his hand but again, not unpleasantly so, and soon her insides were clenching at him desperately as her orgasm pulsated around his cock.

Disgusted, Loki ripped away from her and allowed her to fall to the ground, shivery and weak. He fastened his pants and, when she looked up at him, gasping and bewildered, his eyes contemplated her with loathing. "Only whores enjoy to be treated so cruelly by a stranger," he spat before turning and walking back down the street.

His own relief denied to him, his thoughts found their way back to the brunette and lingered there. He imagined what it would be like to have Savannah writhing underneath him, gasping and whimpering as he filled her with himself and explored parts of her no one else could reach as those restless fingers gripped at his shoulders in confused, innocent bliss. He imagined what she might smell like as she sweat against his own skin and what her moans might sound like, and what the orgasm he brought crashing over her might do to her pretty little face and limbs.

Overcome with frustration, a dull ache now throbbing between his legs, Loki vowed that the next time he found Savannah—and there would be a next time, he would see to that—he would take her as much as he desired, over and over and into the next day, if he so chose. Involuntarily his triumphant thoughts gave way to those of her clinging to him as he took her, staring into his blue eyes with amber ones so full of emotion and sparkling with tears—

Loki appeared at the S.H.I.E.L.D. encampment a second later with murder in his heart.


End file.
